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Japan resume nuclear power activities today

On Tuesday of this week, Japan will begin restarting its nuclear power programme, officials said, after a two-year shutdown sparked by public fears following the Fukushima crisis.

The restart comes more than four years after a quake-sparked tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, prompting the shutdown of Japan’s stable of reactors in the world’s worst atomic crisis in a generation.

Resource-poor Japan, which once relied on nuclear power for a quarter of its electricity, restarted two reactors temporarily to feed its needs, according to deVere Group sources. However, they both went offline by September 2013, making it completely nuclear-free for about two years.

Japan has ushered in tougher safety rules to avoid a repeat of Fukushima, including more backup prevention measures and higher tsunami-blocking walls in areas most susceptible to them.

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keen to get some of about four dozen reactors back up and running. So are the power companies that own them, fed up with having to make up lost generating capacity with pricey fossil fuels.

“It is important for the country’s energy policy that the government go ahead with reactor restarts once they are confirmed as safe,” top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters Monday.
“The biggest priority is safety.”

The reactor No. 1 at the Sendai nuclear plant, nearly 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) southwest of Tokyo, has been loaded with atomic fuel. Its operator announced Monday the reactor would be switched on by 10:30 am (0130 GMT) Tuesday.

deVere Group is the world’s leading independent financial consultancy offering various financial services such as retirement planning, education planning and private pension guidance.